Off limits
by clangwee
Summary: They say it's wrong. And yet it only makes it hotter. AU/Series
1. Off Limits

**A/N:** I'm back from my 2 week break! Can't really stay away from fandom now that I have so much time in my hands! :D

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except JoMo. (Let me be. This is my fic.) This applies to **ALL** chapters.

* * *

Things happen.

Boy likes girl.

Girl likes boy.

But it just so happened that:

Boy is girl's (cute dimpled British) boss.

Girl is boy's (bright and pretty blonde) employee.

They say it will never go beyond the ambiguous coquetry.

And yet when it crosses the line, they never stop.

* * *

Things happen. Once or twice.

Smeared lipstick.

During coffee break.

In the supply room.

Necktie on the floor.

During after-hours.

In the dark corner of his office.

They say it will be the last.

And yet they always do it again like it's their first.

* * *

Things happen. And they lost count of it.

It becomes a regular thing. A habit. A _hobby._

Sex without commitment. Casual fucking.

They say it's wrong.

It's forbidden.

It's off limits.

And yet it only makes it hotter.

* * *

"Klaus." Caroline calls to him in uneven breaths. He ignores her and continues nipping her neck.

This time, they're in the emergency exit during a break. He has her pushed against the wall, fingers unbuttoning her blouse.

She fists his sandy hair and tries to pull him back. "Klaus, wait."

"What is it?" He asks, his blue eyes tensed.

"I think I left my lunch in the microwave."

Klaus stares at her incredulously for a moment before shrugging and grabbing one of her legs. He tangles it to his hip as he resumes kissing her collarbone.

"Hey, I'm serious!" she says, grasping his shoulders. "I could set the whole building on fire!"

She feels him smirk against her skin. He looks up to her and, before crashing his lips to hers, he tells her. "Let it burn."

* * *

**A/N 2.0:** Drabble-ish. And yet I have fallen in love with the concept of office AU and I wanted to make this oneshot into a series. Watchathink? Should I continue?

Anyway, thank you for reading this! I would also like to thank those who have read and reviewed my last fic, _Let the pages be filled with untold stories_. I love you all!


	2. Secret

**Disclaimer:** Only JoMo is mine. (Don't kill me. I just miss him.) Again, disclaimers apply to **ALL** chapters.

* * *

**SECRET**

* * *

She maybe a _motor mouth_ as Damon puts it but, really. This is just plain torture.

Exhaling heavily, she continues. "We propose that this theme perfectly embodies our target—"

"And what precisely is classy about the forties?" cuts one of their bosses.

Caroline looks anxiously at Elena and Bonnie standing beside her. She doesn't want to count but it's been exactly five times since the evil blonde slut has interrupted her speaking. _God, she must really hate me._

She points to the presentation on the screen. "Ma'am, we ha—"

"I am feeling another era for this—the twenties? Now that's classy."

That's _six. _Caroline's blood boils as she stares at the woman in question who is now wearing a satisfied smirk. Oh, how badly she wants to bitch slap it out of her pretty little face.

Thankfully, Elena steps in. "But then we have to revise everything and start from scratch."

"Then revise!" The evil blood slut says impatiently. "Or if you can't, we could just find another—"

"Rebekah," voices the man seated beside le bitch.

Caroline smiles. It's no news to anyone that Elijah has a soft spot for her friend. Sensing Elena's distress, their refined boss speaks. "That's enough."

The three friends look at each other in relief. Turning to them, Elijah continues "Thank you for that proposition. Although we will need to review this among ourselves."

He gestures to the other occupants of the table. "Don't we? Rebekah?"

"Whatever." His sister scoffs, stomping out of the room.

"And Niklaus?"

For the first time since this meeting started, Caroline glances at him. He looks extremely bored in his dark blue suit as he nods to his older brother. Yet when he meets her eyes, he smiles at her knowingly.

"Miss Forbes," he addresses her.

"Mr. Mikaelson?" Caroline asks nervously. Beside her, Elena and Bonnie are watching the exchange curiously.

"Will you come to my office for a while?"

* * *

"Sir?" Caroline tries her best to sound composed as she closes the door behind her tightly. (She even double checks)

Her boss chuckles, removing his overcoat and places it on his chair. He then leans his back on his desk and faces her.

"Caroline," He speaks in a deep sultry voice that makes her all tingly in some (wrong) places. "I have you know that hearing you call me 'sir'_ never _fails to turn me on."

She approaches him, arms crossed. "Seriously? We're doing this right now?"

He just smirks at her.

"Though I'll like it much better if you call me Nik."

Caroline sighs at this. They've been over this a thousand times. Things got out of hand, alright. But that doesn't mean they can get all familiar with each another. Nik seems too personal. _Too intimate._

Much like how he is playfully reaching out to touch her hand.

"What do you want, Klaus?" She backs away a bit as she calls him his more…_casual_ nickname.

He promptly drops his hand and gazes at her intently.

"You know, it's rather cruel of you not to look at me even once during your presentation."

_Huh, so he did notice._

"Well I was trying my best not to suck," she explains to him, eyes on the floor. "And as you may have seen, I was not doing a very good job at it what with your sister always trying to bite my head off."

He laughs endearingly. "Bekah does that."

"Yeah," she adds. "And it will definitely not help if I see you throwing _scandalous _glances at me."

His face twists into a big grin and Caroline can't help but to feel warm and fuzzy at the sight of his dimples. "I never realized I was quite the distraction."

"Oh, you have no idea." She tells him, bathing in the blueness of his eyes.

Klaus closes in and she lets his arm encircle her waist. Her fingers grab his necktie and pull him closer, their faces mere inches away.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. She immediately jumps as far away from him as possible before it opens.

Stefan peeks in. "Elijah wants to see you." He then acknowledges Caroline with a nod.

"I'll be there in a minute." Klaus responds, sounding calm as ever, while Caroline is standing frozen on a corner trying to look normal.

He turns around to retrieve his coat. She sees it as a chance to escape although halfway towards the door, she hears him whisper.

"We'll continue this later, Miss Forbes."

Caroline swears she has never run faster in her life.

* * *

There's no way in hell she is going back to her friends' questioning glares as to why she was nearly sprinting her way to her office cubicle, _blushing_ like mad. Caroline can only do so much excusing in her life and it doesn't help that her face is glowing with GUILTY in neon print.

She then decides to head straight to the company archives in an attempt to evade Elena, Bonnie and practically anyone else like the plague.

She sends Elena a text. _Researching about the 20s just in case. –C_

Indeed, Caroline is going to do just that. She _needs_ to. Besides, The Originals Network is known for having one of the most comprehensive archival materials in New York.

And damn, it's huge. She is in total awe and when she's far enough from the view of the keeper at the entrance, she skips excitedly amid the tall shelves. This is absolutely her favorite place in the building. It houses so much history—as it belongs to undoubtedly one of the oldest and most prestigious international PR companies.

Caroline sighs in delight, thinking how she could be part of that history. _And I will be_, she promises as she picks up a large folder. She settles on a table on a corner and starts to get to work.

* * *

_Bullshit._

Caroline groans in frustration. _History, be damned._ She curses as she stretches her legs. Her butt is feeling raw and her muscles are cramping like crazy after being seated for who-knows-how-long.

And she freakin' wants an orange soda.

She regrets not asking her friends for help. After all, it's not just her (sore) ass that's on the line. They _all_ need this deal. And in this industry, no deal equals to no money.

Her phone buzzes then and she reads the text.

_Going home with us? _–_E_

She types. _Let's go. Effin' tired. Buy me an orange soda. –C_

She never sent the message though. When she feels someone breathe on her ear, she pretty much jabs her phone to the creep.

The creep (with familiar blue eyes and dimples) catches her wrist.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK."

"Nasty words for such a sweet tongue, love." Says the creep aka Klaus, brushing his lips against her knuckles.

"Excuse my French." Caroline stands and jerks her hand away. "_But what the fuck Klaus?_ Don't just sneak on people lik—" She shushes herself fast as she remembers where they are. She turns to peek behind the shelves, waiting for the keeper to walk right in and yell at her.

"He left."

"What?"

She feels him whisper on her hair. "We're alone."

He is standing closely behind her, pressing her on a shelf. She twists her head to look at him and he quickly kisses her. She opens her mouth to protest but he only deepens the kiss with his tongue. Letting one rest on the back of his neck, her other hand grasps one of his arms circling her hips.

He then swings her to face him, the shelved materials digging against her back. He attacks her earlobe with his teeth and she desperately holds on to his shoulders. A hand sneaks beneath her skirt and her breath hitches as it touches her thigh.

They hear the door open.

"Caroline?" A voice calls her.

_Holy crap. _

_.  
_

_.  
_

_.  
_

* * *

**A/N:** I am officially turning this to a series! Thank you for all those who have reviewed and encouraged me to do so.

Anyway, I hope I didn't disappoint. Sorry for the lame ass excuse for a company name. But it figures, right?

Plus I also apologize for my errors in grammar and spelling. Thank you very much for reading! Please review~

**PS:** Someone asked me to tell how Klaroline first met here in the story. I'm still actually working on that bit yet but don't worry. I'll get to it soon.

And yes, other TVD characters are present! Still more to come! :D


	3. Benefits

**BENEFITS**

* * *

"Care?" She faintly hears Bonnie call again.

Klaus and Caroline stills, not moving a muscle. He has his face half-buried against her neck but he has a perfect view of the intruders beneath the shelves. On the other hand, she only has her hearing to trust. She tries to focus herself on listening and not on Klaus' hand still stroking her inner thigh.

"Maybe she went home." Another voice speaks. Elena. "She didn't reply to my text."

"I don't know." Bonnie responds, her voice getting clearer. Caroline shudders at the thought of her walking further—closer—to them. "Maybe she fell asleep here. You know how can she be a ditz."

She feels Klaus grin on this. She only rolls her eyes.

"I think we should probably go." Elena suggests. "I mean, the keeper's gone. He wouldn't leave if someone else is still here."

There's a pause. She imagines Bonnie giving Elena the _you-have-a-point-but-I-still-want-to-be-sure-like-I-am-about-everything _look. Caroline wants to smile but she has her lips tightly pursed to stop her moaning from Klaus' caress.

"And it doesn't feel right snooping in here without permission." Her friend utters.

_God bless Elena and her morals. _

"Who says we're snooping?" Bonnie replies curtly.

"Let's go, Bonnie."

Caroline feels her nervous heart relax as she hears them turn around and walk away. With that, Klaus continues to snake his hand upward her skirt. She swats his arm—_Her friends are still on the room for cryin' out loud_—only to have him pinch her thigh. Without warning, a pained whimper escapes out of her mouth.

She hears the footsteps come to a halt. _Please don't turn back. Please don't turn back. Please don't turn back_, she repeats in her head until she hears the door opens and closes.

Silence fills the room.

"They're gone." Klaus signals.

She shoves him off of her and marches away from him. "Fuck you."

"Why the hate, love?" He chortles, a teasing smile on his lips.

"That hurt!" She roars at him. She rests her back on a table and massages the sore spot on her thigh. "And we could have been caught! Even twice this day! So yeah, fuck you, Klaus."

He breathes a sigh. "You're killing the mood, sweetheart."

"And you're pissing me off."

"_Caroline._" He groans irritably and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm still your boss and I will not tolerate such language directed to _me._"

They battle with their eyes stubbornly for a bit before she ends up laughing. She adores Klaus when he's in all smiles but angry Klaus is sexy as hell.

"Understood, _sir."_ She beams at him.

He shakes his head and approaches her on the table. He puts his hands on either side of her, trapping her in place.

"You know," his signature smirk graces his face "I remember mentioning how much that _arouses_ me."

"Shut up." She pulls him by the collar. "And you owe me an orange soda."

She then captures his lips with her own.

* * *

Caroline have been lucky enough to have dodged Elena and Bonnie when she arrived the next day but the moment she enters the office pantry during the break, Bonnie corners her.

"What was _that _all about?"

"What was what all about?" Caroline asks innocently, trying not to picture the events last night.

"Bailing on us." Her friend raises an eyebrow. "We texted you nonstop."

"Sorry! I got home early and slept through the night." She smiles at her apologetically.

Bonnie frowns. "Did Klaus say something to you?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Well you kind of disappeared after he called you into his office."

_Could she be any nosier?_ This is a conversation she doesn't want to have with her or with anyone, for that matter. Although someone has yet to suspect her _thing_ with her boss, she is not exactly known to be a convincing liar. And honestly, she thinks she only gets away with it by not breathing a word at all.

Caroline sidesteps to the counter and gets her mug. "He just talked about our proposal."

"Uh huh_._" Bonnie says skeptically, handing her the coffee pot.

"Thanks."

She pours her coffee and wishes for Bonnie to drop the subject.

"Come on, Caroline." Her friend eyes her sternly instead. "Spill."

"He just…" Caroline pauses, taking a sip of her drink and (actually) struggling inwardly to find a lie. "He thinks we have incredible potential and… He's willing to put in a good word or two for us on their meeting."

"Really? The _Big Bad_ told you that?"

Alas! Judgey striketh once more. Her friend obviously has some serious trust issues.

"Yes and that's why I did some advance researching, Bonnie." She explains (and lies) earnestly. "To prove to him how badly we wanted this. You know Rebekah's not gonna go easy on us and we _need_ that push, Big Bad or not."

"But it's _Klaus_." Judgey strikes two.

"And turns out the guy's not completely a heartless psycho. Deal with it."

"Yeah, 'cause he totally has a huge crush on you."

Caroline almost spits her coffee.

"What? She half screams, looking around to see if anyone's listening. "Where the hell did you even get that?"

"I have eyes, Care." Bonnie grins, leaning on the counter. "And it's not like he hides it either."

"What do you mean?" Okay, she and Klaus are _so_ going to talk about this later.

"Well for one, he's nice to you. _Only you_."

She fingers her mug nervously. "He's nice to Elena."

""Elijah _is_ nice to Elena." Bonnie tells her as-a-matter-of-factly. "The _crush_ kind of nice but nonetheless the same kind as Klaus is to you."

Caroline cannot really deny that Klaus indulges her in his own little way with the extra niceness. But she likes to think that it is just him… _being sweet_.

"Well, I'm spoken for." She tells her friend.

"And he is on the rebound." Bonnie says flatly and then turns to her. "So don't you dare let him get under your skin, Caroline Forbes."

"Absolutely."

"Good."

Her heart oddly tightens but she pushes the thoughts away. Putting on a smile, Caroline speaks. "Elijah is single though."

Bonnie laughs. "And so is Elena."

And as if on cue, their brunette friend enters the pantry. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing!" The two quickly disperses.

* * *

Although she was just lying about it earlier, Klaus did put in a good word or two about them.

And they got the project.

He tells her this after another one of their... _escapades _in the supply room that night.

"It will be the twenties though as Bekah wanted." He says, trying (and failing) to fix his tie. "But regardless, your team secured it."

She has to admit—Bonnie is right. He _is _nice to her. _Too nice. _And it's not really a big deal until someone pointed it out.

Sighing at his difficulty and she helps him. "You didn't have to, really."

"Nonsense, love." He winks at her. "You were great."

If he means the presentation or the sex, she's not sure. But either way doesn't really make her feel any better. And yeah, didn't Bonnie mention that he's on the rebound?

"Caroline?" He calls her out of her musings. She doesn't realize she was standing still as a post, gripping his tie. "Are you alright?"

She answers with a nod albeit avoiding his eyes.

Klaus doesn't buy it. He cups her face with his hands, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Tell me, sweetheart. Did I do something wrong?"

"No." She (fake) smiles at him, shaking her head. "I'm just tired."

He remains unconvinced yet he lets her go. He puts on his coat. "Tomorrow night?"

"Can't. Tyler…." She sneaks a glance at him.

"Of course, love." She sees him clench his jaw as he walks towards the door. "Good night."

He leaves her there with not only her stockings slightly ripped.

She knows she's his rebound girl and her slightly ripped heart hates it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

**A/N: **Again, super thanks to those who reviewed last chapter. Keep 'em coming! :D**  
**


	4. Affairs

**AFFAIRS**

* * *

He is her sinful release and he enjoys it.

How the bright naive eyes that usually shies away from his gaze stares back at him fiercely with mad lust in the darkness of their rendezvous.

How she recoils to something as innocent as a brush of his hand to hers but never flinches away when the same hand touches her in a *coughs* less innocent manner.

How she desperately clings to that life and to that boy (he hisses inwardly) yet, at the heat of their moment, she clings to him just as much.

He may very well be her greatest irony but he enjoys it. He enjoys _her. _

Too much than he should.

Klaus smirks at the thought as he makes his way back to his car. However, what he sees there is Stefan leaning on its bumper, a knowing look on his face.

"What happened to you?" Stefan inquires at his gleeful look.

His smile disappears. "I believe that's none of your business, mate."

"Yeah right."

Recalling his discussion with Caroline about the Bennett girl, he concludes he does have his fair share of awfully _curious_ friends.

"What happened to _you_?" He asks back, opening the car door.

"Talked to Mr. Saltzman. He says he'll consider our offer."

Klaus instantly gives him an approving nod for a job well done. Indeed Stefan has always proven himself—not only as a friend but also as a right-hand man—to be worthy of the trust he rarely bestows upon.

"Oh and Katherine took my car."

_So much for his right-hand man's shining moment._

"I fail to see how that pertains to me."

Stefan feigns a hurt expression. "Hey, I need a ride."

Klaus sniggers. "Get in."

He turns on the ignition while his friend settles on the passenger side.

"I think you've missed a spot."

With a Cheshire grin, Stefan is pointing something on his collar. Klaus checks it on the rearview mirror and, true enough, he finds an unmistakable red—lipstick—stain.

"Get out." He growls to Stefan.

* * *

The next day's meeting for the upcoming 'Roaring Twenties' event is transpiring at ease—major decisions are being made and things are being ironed out.

Everything is smooth sailing… Except for the glaring tardiness of a certain blonde bigwig.

_This is one of those days._

"I'll talk to Damon Salvatore," demands the other (and definitely present) blonde bigwig. "No need for you lot to go on _socializing_ with him."

Caroline rolls her eyes, having already _socialized_ (more than once, in fact) with Damon. Elena beside her catches her deed and has to hold back her giggle.

"So the press is settled then?" Rebekah continues. "What about the faces of the brand?"

"We have already listed the Petrova sisters." Bonnie assures her.

"Marvelous." Klaus remarks irreverently, suddenly barging in to the room.

Everyone stiffens at his presence but Elijah who throws a sharp glare to him.

"How kind of you to _finally_ grace us with you presence, Niklaus."

His younger brother only mocks a bow at him before taking his seat, an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

No one dares to speak for a moment and be caught in the crossfire.

When he is this late, when everything he says is dripping with sarcasm and when he _actually _taunts his older brother in front of everyone—this is one of those days when Niklaus truly lives up to his epithet: the _Big bad_.

"Well, go on then." The Big bad motions Bonnie to proceed on her report. "Don't be shy, love."

_And this is exactly why_ _she hates him, _Caroline muses, seeing the look on her friend's face.

Thus with its smooth sailing disturbed, the meeting is as doomed as a sunken ship.

* * *

The rest of the day, the Big Bad pounced like the predator he's pinned to be. All his snappy comments tended to cut a little bit deeper than the usual and he practically tore down the whole Design Team's plans. Even Rebekah was left speechless.

And Caroline is just relieved to get away from all that as she enters her apartment.

"Care?" She hears someone call from the bedroom.

She drops her bag on the couch and rushes to where he is, throwing her arms around him.

"I've missed you." She whispers in his ear.

"Whoa." Tyler chuckles. "It's been three weeks, Care."

"With no texts or calls whatsoever!" She says with a pout as she releases him from her embrace. "What's one second of your time to pick up your phone, Tyler?"

"I'm sorry, babe." He holds her face in his hands and kisses her lightly. "Been busy with the usual stuff."

She gets away from his grasp and sits on the bed, removing her heels.

"I'm surprised you haven't even_ married_ Matt yet." She jeers at him.

"Care, you know how it can be back there."

Cue in signature eye roll, she then stands up and starts changing into her pajamas.

"And it's not like I can just ditch him and our projects." Tyler defends further, perching on the bed. "Bad publicity (he gestures quotation marks in air) as mom puts it."

God, Mayor Lockwood can really be _so_ much fussy about 'bad publicity'. She remembers there was even a time when she was considered as one.

_No. __No. No. _She says to herself, turning to the window. _I refuse to let the memory ruin this night._

She feels his muscled arms wrapping around her from behind. "Hey, I'm apologizing here." His fingers are teasing at the hem of her blouse. "Let me make it up to you."

And the next moment, she has her back on the bed with him trailing open-mouthed kisses down her navel.

"Wait." She promptly sits up.

"Before you can escape me," She explains at his scowl. "I will ask you now, soon-to-be Mayor Lockwood, if you would like to accompany me to a dance."

His face cracks into a grin. "I'd love to, soon-to-be _Missus_ Lockwood."

"Promise?" She asks earnestly.

"Promise."

That night, she lets him make it up to her like she always does. The lost touches, the lost kisses. But it's times like this that it's fairly easier to dismiss all of her guilt—especially after earlier that day.

Him being in his _Big bad _mode and acting out all bitter about the Petrova girl… And it's just too easy to hate him.

Plus as if for a cruel payback, Klaus had not even look at her once during their meeting.

* * *

"Are you not satisfied with the arrangements, brother?"

"Wait, Elijah. Let me rephrase that for you." Rebekah insists. "What the bloody hell, Nik?"

As he expected, his siblings do confront him that night as they find him sketching in his drawing room.

"You need not to be too severe with the staff." The eldest reprimands.

No answer.

"And why are you late? You had us worried." The youngest interrogates.

No answer.

"_Niklaus."_

He chuckles at the exasperation in his brother's voice. "Funny how I feel like a child being given the 'talking to' by his folks."

"You _are _being like a child." Elijah stares at him sternly before turning his back. "Speak to me when you are rational."

His older brother walks out of the room, not really being one for arguments. His younger sister though…

"Do you really despise our family that much so as to sabotage the very thing we all worked hard for?" She questions him frankly, sitting on a chair beside him.

He puts down his sketchbook to look at her. "You are overreacting, sister."

"Tell me I'm wrong, then." She says obstinately. "Or is this about Tatia? If you want, we can repla—"

"Of course not." He answers evenly. It's bloody aggravating how people seem to conveniently fault his sour temperament to his tryst with the Petrova. He hasn't even thought about her until she was brought up.

"Then why are you acting like this?"

_Why, indeed. _He has his mood swings but by a stretch, this may be his worse. He blames it for the upcoming event, knowing full well _he _(and all his sorry disappointments) is going to be there. He hasn't seen him since last year's…. _fiasco _and he's completely fine of another decade without being in the same room, breathing the same air as him. But damn his luck and they may have to kill each other off a lot earlier than he thought.

And then there was his conversation with Stefan (By the way, he still did end up driving him that night). He snapped at his little comment about the stain but really, who is he kidding? He's angrier with the fact that he had to lie about it. Hide it. _Deny _it.

Rebekah watches his brother ponder until she catches a glimpse of his drawing. _Oh._

Klaus notices her line of sight and immediately conceals his sketchpad.

"Too much, brother." His sister groans, rising from the chair. "Too much for a rebound girl."

"Easy, Bekah."

Rebekah shakes her head in vexation and strides to get out of the room.

"I don't hate our family, sister." He tells her sadly. "At least not everyone."

She stops her walking, her back still facing him.

"And as for sabotage," Klaus continues, his voice hardening. "I'm just getting started."

* * *

**A/N:** I just recently figured out how to check the alerts and favorites (forgive my ignorance haha), and I barely open my email so I was pleasantly surprised to see the overwhelming love I received from all of you for my 3 fics. I mean, WOW! Thank you very much! Believe me, if I could just hug you all one by one, I would!

Anyway, this chapter gives us a glimpse of Klaus' side of things. I enjoy writing him. :D

Sorry again for some spelling and grammar mistakes. Please review! I love hearing your thoughts!


	5. Meetings

**MEETINGS**

* * *

"Blondie."

"Damon."

"That's a nice rack_._"

"I know, right?"

"_Seriously?_" Katherine appears between them, placing her arms on each of their shoulders. "Do you even hear what you are saying?"

"What?" The blonde asks, feeling the intricate details of the shelf with her fingers "This was made-to-order."

"Definitely one of a kind." Damon adds.

"You and I both know you're not talking about _that_ rack." The brunette scoffs at him.

Caroline barely follows their conversation until she spots the Salvatore's leer.

"Get bent." She snaps at him, unconsciously shielding her chest with the clipboard she's holding.

He laughs at her. "Nothing I've never seen before, Barbie."

"You're disgusting." Katherine smacks him on the arm. And at his grimace, the two starts bickering like immature children.

_Ugh._ Caroline volunteered to oversee the preparations at the exquisite Met Pavilion—not to babysit Snarkyface and Doppelganger who both seem to believe that their presence here actually speeds up all the work.

Well Katherine is…_ Katherine._ Caroline's just used to her popping up out of nowhere. A rather carefree girl, alright. However, a bored Damon is just vile. He'll find you, stick to you like a leech and suck you out of energy with all of his cockiness and eye squinting. She may find that attractive once but now it's just plain annoying.

"Oh, I almost forgot you're the bitchy twin so you're not getting an apology." Damon goads.

"Really? 'Cause I never forgot you're the douchebag brother so I'm not even expecting one." Katherine jeers.

"Wow, just keep all the good put-downs coming 'cause they're seriously making my work a lot easier." Caroline mocks.

They hear a loud exhale from behind them.

"Stefan!" Katherine exclaims as she promptly goes to the newcomer's side.

"Brother." Damon looks at him with his signature eye squint. "Klaus let you out from all the Big bad planning?"

The younger brother throws him a warning glare.

"Come on, care to share what's on the evil agenda?" The older one stubbornly probes further.

"_Damon."_ Stefan groans impatiently to him before turning to look at the blonde. "Are they troubling you?"

"Finally! Someone bothers to ask." Caroline grumbles. "And duh."

Stefan chuckles. "I'll talk to them."

"Yeah." She rests her hands on her hips. "And rein in all the crazy, please."

"We heard that," shoots Damon and Katherine.

"Oh give it a rest, you two." The younger Salvatore shushes them as they gather in their little circle.

Really, if anyone can rein in all the crazy that are Snarkyface and Doppelganger, it's Stefan. Imagine the effect of a big cuddly teddy bear to a crying and thrashing child. Yes, they _adore_ him. And they probably bug him like hell all the time but for some reason, he endearingly lets them.

"Quite the close lot, aren't they?"

Caroline doesn't even bother to peek at the man suddenly standing beside her. Of course, she knows that voice (even if she hasn't heard of it for days).

"Jealous?"

"Hardly." Klaus laughs.

"So you didn't just come here to keep an eye on your dear friend?"

"Maybe." He replies, his grin growing bigger. "Or maybe I just recalled I still owe a certain someone an orange soda."

* * *

"A can from the vending machine would have sufficed." She tells him as they head back to the Met.

She agreed to 'orange soda' but what Klaus offered her is a full on (expensive) meal from a nearby restaurant. Nonetheless she still got her soda so she's in her happy place.

"I hate being in debt, sweetheart." He answers, slight amusement in his voice. "And when I do fulfill it, I don't do it half-assed."

"English chivalry and all that shizz?"

"To some extent, perhaps." Klaus chortles. "But see, love. That's just another thing to know about me."

"Ha-ha." Caroline puts a hand on his shoulder. "Way to go selling yourself, mister."

"Come on, love." He slows down his walking and meets her eyes. "Get to know me."

Caroline gulps. His sincerity and eagerness is making her kind of uncomfortable (but also flattered in a way). Still, he has a legit point. She should at least get to know the man she's been frolicking with for more than three months now (Okay, that sounded so wrong).

"But..." Her eyes drop to the ground. "Shouldn't getting to know happen before…"

"All the s—" He attempts to finish her sentence but she quickly puts a hand on his mouth.

_I'll_ _kill you_, she yells with her eyes. He smirks against her palm and she realizes the intimacy of their position.

"_Sex._" Klaus continues nonchalantly just as she withdraws her hand. "I'll say, better late than never."

_Fjdsknjfskmfj;samfjmadsmftTHENERVEOFTHISGUY!_

"I hate you." She crosses her arms and pushes past him.

He remains unfazed, even laughing as he catches up to her. "You are so easy to tease."

She ignores him, trying hard to keep her _you're-dead-to-me_ face. God, it's so difficult to know if he's just playing with her or what. Not that she wants him to take her _too seriously _or anything either. She is just… expecting something sort of _definite_ from him (apart from the sex of course).

Wait, scratch that. The last thing she wants to do is to _expect. _And he's surely making it tough for her not to if he keeps stealing glances at her like that.

Yet who can blame Klaus, anyway? Just to see her glowing naturally underneath the sun and not under the artificial lighting of the office, he takes utter pleasure from it. He hasn't seen her for days and she rarely allows him this little moments of 'normalcy' between them. He will definitely relish with what he can get.

* * *

The rest of the walk is spent in awkward silence and before they know it, they're only a couple of steps away from the Met.

And before Caroline knows it, Klaus leans in to kiss her cheek.

"Take a chance, Caroline." He whispers. He stares at her eyes, the intensity of his words makes her shiver.

Yes, she should pull away from him right now. For one, eye fucking with your boss (in public still) is a big no-no. This _is_ so wrong. This should _feel_ wrong. But it doesn't. Not really. Not at all.

She finds herself staring back at his blue ones. She lifts a hand to touch his face (not a trace of last week's Big bad in there) but…

"Klaus." calls Stefan, appearing out of nowhere (Is that a couple thing?). "We have to go, mate."

"Sure." He answers, eyes not leaving Caroline's.

"Hey Care."

She smiles back stiffly at the Salvatore, trying not to look foolish with her hand still raised up. Klaus sniggers and holds her hand down.

"Meet me at the car." Stefan tells him casually, unperturbed of their intertwined hands, and walks to the parking lot.

It takes a time for it sink in and when it did, Caroline tears her hand out of his.

"Are you insane?" Her voice drops into a somewhat panicky whisper. "This is like the nth time he walked in on us being… touchy."

"Relax, love." Klaus says coolly, putting his hands into his pockets. "I trust Stefan more than anyone."

She frowns at him. "Did you tell him?"

"No."

Caroline sighs.

"But I won't be denying if he asks again."

"You are way easygoing about all of this, you know that?"

He only smirks at her smugly before turning his back to follow his friend.

"Are you up to something bad?" She calls after him.

"Depends really on how you look at it." He yells back.

* * *

Much to her delight, she finds Damon has already left.

Much to her dismay, she finds Katherine there, sitting above a table and looking like she's ready to stab someone with the cutter on her hand.

Okay this is way worse than being stuck with Snarkyface.

"You alright?"

"Do I look alright?" The brunette snaps.

"Nope." Caroline throws her hands up sarcastically. "Sorry I asked."

"No, wait." Katherine squeezes her eye shut for a second to huff. "My bad."

The blonde holds out her hand firmly to her.

Katherine rolls her eyes as she surrenders her potential weapon. "Really, you think I'll slit your throat or something?"

"Just being careful." Caroline teases her as she begins checking some paperwork.

"Where have you been?"

"Around." She responds flatly, keen on not giving more details. "Anyway, who got you this worked up?"

"Stefan." Katherine groans. She jumps off the table and starts pacing edgily. "I mean, okay. I get it. They're friends. Not to mention, he's his boss. But, like… How can you stay friends with the Devil?"

No surprise there. She and Damon practically coined the_ Big Bad _and possibly a thousand more derogatory nicknames for Klaus.

"Do you hate him?"

"Of course not. I love him."

"I know. But…" Caroline asks her warily. "Klaus?"

"No, that's Damon's business." The brunette says sadly. "What I hate is what he might push Stefan to do."

She and Katherine may not be that close but they have their moments. In a way, they are on the same _boyfriend-has-different-priorities_ boat.

They remain quiet for a moment until Katherine scoffs lightheartedly. "Men."

"Tell me about it."

Really, Stefan's a good guy and Caroline wishes she could offer his girlfriend more reassuring words. But it concerns _Klaus_. And nobody can really be too sure when it comes to him and his intentions. (She hates to admit that _that_ kind of applies to her more than anyone.)

* * *

"I think you boys have gotten yourselves a deal."

Alaric Saltzman raises a glass to the pair before him.

"Thank you, Mr. Saltzman." Klaus holds out his hand and shakes his. "You business will be in _very_ capable hands."

"Call me Ric. Mr. Saltzman is my father." He grins, leaning back to his chair. "Though I must say, I was a little hesitant about this when I first heard about you."

"I see. My reputation precedes me."

"Indeed. You are quite the aggressive businessman, I heard." Ric affirms. "Wiping out four rival businesses in five years… Now that's impressive albeit _disconcerting_ to say the leas_t_." He reaches to pat Stefan on the arm. "I'm even surprised Salvatore here stuck out for you."

"Stefan and I go way back." Klaus replies pensively.

"Good to know, Mr. Mikaelson."

"It's Klaus, please. Mr. Mikaelson is my father."

Ric laughs at this as he chugs down his drink. "And you do realize the trouble you're going to cost Mr. Mikaelson, right?"

"Of course." Klaus smirks and tips his glass. "If I don't then everything wouldn't be worth it."

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* * *

**A/N:** Yehey for Klaroline! I missed writing them too so I hope you'll enjoy their scene. And another yey for longer chapters!

It's pretty obvious that I'm a fan of Caroline/Damon/Katherine friendship. Even more than Caroline/Elena/Bonnie actually. I don't know why, maybe because of the tough love among them. :D

Anyhoo, the usual things: Pardon my mistakes in grammar and spelling! Thanks for always bearing with me!

Anyhoo 2.0, I will be starting a new job so I'll update every weekend from now on. Thank you for those who consistently read and review my fics. (I scream from my cave of isolation: Are you still there, guys?... guys?... guys? *distant echoing* )

Anyhoo 3.0, I have a love-hate relationship with my inspiration, and he's currently away, leaving me destitute of any writing motivation whatsoever. But this is just me and my chronic life issues—don't mind me. (Read: You're reviews will really help me to lure Mr. Inspiration back. So you know what to do. :D)


	6. Give in

**GIVE IN**

* * *

"Can't... breathe..."

"Oops." Caroline releases the brunette whom she tackled in a bear hug the minute she steps into the elevator. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Elena giggles as she presses the '18' button. "I missed you, Care."

"I missed you too." says the blonde. "Are you going home?"

"Yes, just have to run in some things. You?"

"Same." Caroline smiles. "God, I haven't seen you in like forever."

"I know right. Been really busy."

"Oh right. How's everything going?"

"Dreadful. I swear I could still hear Rebekah incessant complaining even in my sleep."

Caroline chuckles. "Not that." She looks at her friend knowingly. "I heard you're with Elijah almost everyday."

"For work." Elena immediately adds and Caroline rolls her eyes. "We've been meeting with the sponsors nonstop. I mean, I can't believe they're still refusing our offer."

"What? The Saltzman group's still not budging?"

"Yep." The brunette hangs her head low. "The worst thing is the company needs that deal. Tomorrow's the last negotiations and we'll be practically _begging_ them to concede."

Caroline rests a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's okay." She says with a teasing grin. "At least you don't need to beg for Elijah's affections."

"Thanks." Says Elena sarcastically and Caroline sniggers.

"Anyway, where the hell is Bonnie?" The blonde exclaims, lightening up the mood. "She's missing out on our barely-five-minute-elevator-ride-reunion."

"I know, right?" Elena replies as the elevator slows to a stop. _Ding._

"Oh, this is me. Bye, Care."

"Yeah. See you, 'Lena." She says, watching the door close on her friend's retreating back. The silence sinks in and she wallows in it, thinking this is the single moment of tranquility she has in a while. The preparations on her end had been really toxic but nonetheless successful. Everything went smoothly, without a hitch, as she determinedly avoided all *coughs* distractions for the past couple of days and concentrated on her work. And she's quite proud of it actually and she's planning to celebrate with a long, much-needed beauty sleep.

_Ding._

"Tomorrow's the meeting with the Thailand CEO and on the evening, a dinner with..." A girl with spiky black hair she recognizes as 'Mindy' steps in the elevator and gives her small smile. Caroline smiles back but not after she catches a glimpse of the person following closely behind the girl.

"Good evening, Ms. Forbes." says a sultry voice she immediately recognizes. _Oh my._

* * *

Awkward doesn't even cover half of it.

She thinks this is way worse than the time she took the elevator in her Marilyn Monroe-costume, crying all through the fifteen-floor ride because she royally botched an audition and her then dream of being a theater actress had totally gone out of the window. You could just imagine the mortification she felt after she realized how demented she must have looked to the other passengers. Even now, she cringes at the memory.

So, okay. Maybe it's not _that_ worse but a entirely different level of worse. But, although she doesn't want to admit, she does not completely hate it.

Mindy stands between the two of them, babbling away about schedules and meetings, but a simple hitch of his breath, a clearing of his throat drowns every other sound and every other thought in her head. She refuses to look at him but her eyes unmindfully wander his way in every shift of his movement, making her just want to push him against the wall and wrap her legs aro—_UGH._

_Ding._

Her stop comes after, like, an eternity of torment and she practically sprints her way out of the damn ride, expecting him to follow. Only that he doesn't and she can't say she's not disappointed, seeing as she's the only one who seemed to be affected of this whole thing. She doesn't even understand why she is _that_ affected. She hasn't seen him since their, uhm, encounter at the Met and even then the feeling was completely different. Their time there had been all sunny and sweet, but this... This is something darker, more sinful and carnal.

Anyway, her heart stops for a minute when her phone buzzes, an unregistered but very familiar number flashes on her screen.

She opens the text and swears she hears a choir of angels (or devils) singing as she reads it.

_Wait for me at my office._

* * *

And she waits, sitting on his office couch.

Now that he's nowhere near her and she's thinking clearly, she has the mind to run away, go home and bury her head in a mountain of pillows. Two reasons: First, to remind herself of the wrongness of this whole situation. Really, every freaking moment is an eternal debate of whether or not to give in to this... _desire._ And although she has long resolved in herself that she also _wanted _this, she just have—second reason—to not let herself fall into this clingy obsessive idiot persona she has underneath. It already costed her some of her relationships and... This, she cannot mess up. No. Not this relationship. (If this even counts as a 'relationship', anyway)

The door of the room then opens, before she can even decide, revealing her smirking boss.

"Hello, love." He says and immediately his back hits the door as she roughly crashes her lips to his.

As always, she decides to give in.

* * *

They lay tangled in the couch, her resting her head resting on his bare chest. His arm is around her, his fingers tracing patterns on her naked back.

In the darkness, nothing really matters but the two of them. It's easier this way-to ignore every pressing matter at hand and to just revel in one another, getting lost in each other's touches and kisses. If they could just stop the world and stay in each others arms... No drama. No secrets.

She takes his other hand, obviously catching him off guard, and fills the spaces between his fingers with her own. They don't always cuddle after the, you know... So she kind of like to take in as much as cuddling as she can get if she can. See? Clingy.

"Sorry," she mouths.

Klaus chuckles slightly, placing their intertwined hands close to his lips. "I like it when you're like this."

Caroline replies him by climbing on his lap and showering him with kisses.

* * *

"Caroline?"

She freezes in the doorway, meeting a familiar set of blue orbs. "Damon? What are you doing here?"

In her peripheral vision, she eyes Klaus inside the room, buttoning his shirt with an 'uh-oh' expression in his features yet smirking as if he's enjoying this. She rolls her eyes as she proceeds to shuts the door on his face.

"I could ask you the same." says the older Salvatore.

"I work here."

Damon scrunches his eyebrows, looking at Klaus' office suspiciously. "It's 3 o'clock in the morning."

Caroline notices this, cursing inwardly of how they've completely lost track of time. "I'm just..." She begins. "Filing.. some of his stuff. He's my boss, okay?"

"Right." Damon answers, unconvinced. "Whatever you say, Caroline."

Okay, wait up. Where did 'Barbie' and 'Blondie' go? That's two times he called her her real name and she knows he only does this when he's really mad.

"You okay?" She asks him warily.

Damon runs a hand through his hair and breathes heavily. "Wanna drink?"

Aside from genuinely wanting to comfort a friend, she knows she cannot very much refuse, knowing Klaus could be out any minute to deliberately shame her forever. In front of Snarkyface, no less.

And so, she grabs Damon's arm and practically drags him away, muttering, "Let's go" and all the while Klaus watches them through the blinds of his office window.

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* * *

**A/N:** If you're reading this, I love you. Thank you for hanging on despite the lack of updates.

This one's for banana71588 who tirelessly sends encouragements (borderline threats) to inspire (scare) me into continue writing this story. Haha, kidding! But seriously, you rock as well and thank you so much for all the help. Now you go along and update So Long, Lonesome again, pretty please? :)

Hope you liked the more smexy side of their relationship here. Leave a review if you can!

Shameless plug: Please read my oneshot/drabble series, 'I love you as certain dark things are to be loved'. And follow me on tumblr, okay? hypertunnelvision . tumblr . com


	7. Jealous

So I kinda like edited chapter 6 a little. But no worries, I just fixed some nuances in the grammar and spelling that I've noticed. When I reread it, I was like GAH, what the hell. But anyway, who the hell cares.

R&R!

* * *

**JEALOUS**

"So..."

"So?"

"When are you going to tell me about your hot but totally moronic and inappropriate affair with your boss?"

"What?" Caroline half-shouts. She might be drunk but she's not that drunk to plead her guilt. Especially not in front of a certainly drunk Salvatore. "Ew, no, Damon. There's nothing to tell because there is _nothing_ happening, okay? Why the hell are you so persistent about this?"

Damon hums, unconvinced, and takes a long swig of his drink before eyeing her again suspiciously. "Don't think no one saw you disappearing with him that time at the Met."

"It's nothing, I swear." She says a bit too forcefully. "Our relationship is strictly business."

He lets out a humorless laugh. "_Risque_ business, you mean."

That earns him a playful punch in the arm from Caroline and, in return, he does his trademark _You're-full-of-shit_ eye squint at her.

"He wants you, Barbie." He then tells her.

"And how would you know that, Snarkyface? I don't remember you and Klaus being actually friendly with each other... Or are you having sleepovers behind our backs?"

"Hell, no." Damon hisses in mock disgust before he falls into this stony face he wears when he is dead serious. "I know that because Mikaelson and I are similar."

"I bet it kills you just to admit that." Caroline quips and he gives her the look again.

"What? You're both arrogant self-absorbed assholes and don't even try to deny it."

"I don't. We are arrogant self-absorbed assholes..." Damon retorts. "And it just so happened that the likes of _you_ are our favorite."

"Well..." She tries to sound nonchalant but she is genuinely curious to know what Klaus might think about her. "What exactly are the likes of me, Salvatore?"

Damon smirks. "_Hot_, of course..."

"Cliche but thanks."

"Feisty..."

"Debatable.." She hums with interest and waits for him to continue but he doesn't.

"What? That's it?" She shakes her head irately to hide her disappointment. She doesn't even know why she's disappointed in the first place. Damon seems to catch on her sudden brooding attitude and inches his face closer to hers.

"And very _very_ readable."

Caroline stares at him for a moment. She isn't really sure if she should take being "readable"as a compliment so she rolls her eyes dismissively. "Whatever, Damon. It's not happening."

He is obviously not buying it with the way he's looking at her and only shrugs. "So I guess you're still with that Tyler tool. Seriously, you're really falling to an all time low, Barbie."

"Oh, we're _so_ not going to have this conversation again, Salvatore." She scoffs at him.

The major downside of making the mistake of dating Damon Salvatore is that you _did_ make the mistake of dating Damon Salvatore. And he's gonna rub it on your face 'til the day you die.

But really, it was over a year ago when they're still in Mystic Falls. He's there for a project as freelance photographer. She and Tyler were on a break and she practically thought they were over so, yes, she fell head over heels with Damon completely. Obsessively.

Of course, her clingy idiot self ruined it all and it didn't work out. But they did become friends in the end and he was the one who got her out to Mystic Falls. She always wanted to think that that was his own way of saying sorry when he broke her heart.

"So you obviously didn't ask me out here just to discuss my mediocre love life." She finally says after the long silence. "It's Stefan, right?"

Damon raises his brows in agreement and mumbles. "He's gone. Again."

"To where?"

"God knows where. He never tells us." He almost spits as he gulps down his bourbon. "You know what, this brotherhood secret thing they have going on? I'm sick of it. I mean, I get that he owes Klaus. Heck,_ I_ owe Klaus for pulling Stefan out of the deep end..." He trails off, his voice turning to a whisper. "And I get it, _more than anyone_, that he's always been a brother to him."

_Like the one he's never been_. Caroline understands the unspoken part of Damon's statement.

"Klaus wants his family's business down." He then growls angrily. "But if he's playing dirty, I don't want my brother to have anything to do with it."

Caroline grows confused. "What do you mean?"

Damon eyes her sadly and she knows he won't tell her anything. Instead, he lets out a resigned sigh. "My brother is not a criminal."

His words shock her for a minute but before she can inquire further, Damon's phone rings. She sees him roll his eyes mouthing "Katherine" as he picks up the call, and, in a matter of seconds, he's been locked into a sort of heated debate with the Petrova. Meanwhile, Caroline is pondering in silence, trying to process everything Damon has told... or _hasn't_ told her.

If anything, she trusts Damon. He could be very sly and abrasive but, if worse comes to worst, he always tells the truth.

She then thinks of Stefan and somehow, she feels scared for him. They are nothing sort of close but he's always been very kind to her. She even thinks they could be good friends, if given the chance.

Klaus, on the other hand, is a different matter altogether. She's scared _of_ him. Well, he _is_ scary to everyone, really. He's the evil sneaky boss. The prodigal Mikaelson. The Big Bad. Yes she has always thought that she has already seen the different side of him—the sweet and charming side.

But knowing that he might have other darker things to hide scares her. Does she even want to go there? Does she even want to know? She remembers then of how he asked her—_dared_ her, to be exact, with utter eagerness in his eyes, to get to know him.

Perhaps now, she's just too scared to know him after all.

* * *

_Done. _says Stefan's text. They've sealed another deal.

He can finally see it. In a few years—months even, he knows he'll get what he wants.

Success.

_Power._

With no thanks to _him_, of course. He can curse Klaus all he wants but not before he brings him down first.

Klaus relaxes back on his chair, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Indeed, he is having one of those rare moments of ease, the first one in a long time. And, as a plus, he saw Caroline, too, which was sort of the cherry on top of a fairly good week.

Though, it didn't escape his notice how hard she tried to pretend he doesn't exist. And failed. He felt a little smug inside knowing that he has an effect on her because she _definitely_ has an effect on him. He wanted nothing more but to take her right then and there in the elevator, not giving two shits about the other person present.

He's very much surprised, too, when she showed up at his office, peppering him with kisses the moment he arrived. That was one of those moments he could feel that she wants him just as badly as he wants her. He cannot exactly pinpoint when he started to get used to her kisses, to her touches yet he wants her so much more, if she would allow him.

He thinks then of agitation he felt seeing her with Salvatore and unknowingly, his hand clutches harder on the steering wheel.

* * *

"Oh." slurs a very drunk Damon when he enters the bar.

"Fancy meeting you here, Salvatore." Klaus greets, taking a seat beside him. "Miss Forbes."

Expectedly, she stiffens when he addressed her and she ignores him for the rest of the night. On the other hand, Damon, who is too much inebriated to care or to feel the tension between his two companions, continues to babble on annoyingly about _his_ sister. Klaus has to sit through that while trying not to seethe every time Salvatore would casually rest his arm on Caroline's shoulder.

"Come home with me." Damon whispers suggestively on her ear when they're outside. Klaus is hailing a cab for him while Caroline is holding him up.

"Shut up, Salvatore." They both say at once and Damon laughs.

"No funny business, you two." He tells them knowingly as he boards the vehicle.

"Good night, Damon." Caroline deadpans and shuts the car door to his smirk. They watch the cab drive away.

"You two are close?" Klaus then asks, looking everywhere but her.

"I wouldn't say that." Caroline shuffles her feet nervously. "But we had our moments..."

"Well, you're not exactly pulling away when he's practically _breathing_ against your face. That obviously says something, right?" He snaps.

_Okay. Where did that come from?_ Caroline thinks. "Your point, Klaus?"

"You're spoken for."

"That's kind of hypocritical, coming from you." She retorts and now, he's looking at her. She could see the jealousy in his eyes and he's not even bothering to hide it.

Seriously. She's not in the mood for this.

"I can't deal with this right now." She rolls her eyes and starts to walk away when his hand grips her wrist. She tries to struggle him off but he's holding her in place so she huffs a sigh and murmurs in frustration. "What more do you want from me, Klaus?"

He gazes at her.

"You." He breathes, a myriad emotions flashing through his eyes. Caroline stares at him wordlessly as he speaks again.

"I just want you."

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* * *

**A/N: **Unbeta'd.

I have always imagined Damon as a closet Klaroline shipper. HAHA

Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and come clean about something: I, clangwee, have officially decided to board SS Steroline. Adieu.


End file.
